WATERBURY — A prisoner who staged a highly publicized hunger strike to protest his rape conviction was scheduled to be released from prison on Sunday, but is refusing to be listed as sex offender on a state registry and will remain detained as part of his ongoing demonstration.

William B. Coleman, 52, has been imprisoned since 2005 after a jury in Waterbury Superior Court convicted him of sexually assaulting his ex-wife in 2002. Coleman, a British citizen, was sentenced to eight years in prison, but maintained he was innocent and that his wife had made up the allegation as a ploy to gain sole custody of their two sons.

Coleman, a former Waterbury resident, began a hunger strike in 2007 to draw attention to what he believed was a broken judicial system, forcing Department of Correction officials to feed him through a nose tube. Although he drank some juice and milk, he has lost close to 100 pounds during the strike.

He filed several petitions of that decision, including a federal appeal, and objected to the handling of his case by his attorney. The American Civil Liberties Union of Connecticut took up Coleman's case, claiming prison officials were violating his civil rights by force-feeding him.

The state Supreme Court ruled in March that correction officials were justified in that measure, as they needed to keep him alive. His other appeals have been denied.

Coleman's prison term was set to expire Sunday, but he was arrested by state police last week after he refused to be listed on the state sex registry, which was a requirement of his sentence and release. The registry consists of a person's address, picture and convictions, among other things, but Coleman is refusing to aid authorities in obtaining that information.

Coleman is now being held in lieu of $50,000 bond at the MacDougall-Walker Correctional Institution in Suffield. He is due in Enfield Superior Court in January.

A friend of Coleman's, Carol Kinsley, said she spoke with him this week and he will continue to refuse to comply with the registry requirements, as he and his supporters believe he is innocent.

"He didn't commit a crime," she said.

Coleman also is continuing his hunger strike, and still has a nasal tube in place in order for prison officials to continue force-feeding him. Kinsley said supporters believe they have DNA evidence that supports his defense and will seek to have the case heard before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Coleman was expected to be turned over to federal agents, and possibly deported, after his sentence expired Sunday, but the state police arrest will keep him in the United States.

A spokeswoman for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency stated in an e-mail Friday that deportation proceedings will not take place until the state charge is resolved.

Coleman is a former head coach of the Central Connecticut State University women's soccer team. He and his ex-wife were in the process of a divorce when the rape allegation was made; their separation was finalized after Coleman was convicted.

The criminal case did not include any forensic evidence, Coleman did not testify, and his attorneys didn't call witnesses. The case hinged on whether the jury believed the testimony of his ex-wife. The testimony of one witness is enough to convict a defendant.

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JPP wrote on Dec 29, 2012 8:25 AM:

" Send him back to England with a one-way only, no re-entry ticket and let them worry about him. He's cost the taxpayers enough already. "

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